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Technology

Materials ...

Stainless Steel- There are around 120 different alloys of stainless steel with various properties. Those mainly used for car exhausts are:

Type 304 austentic is generally regarded as the best grade for automotive use and this is the alloy that we use, in plain and annealed form, for 98% of our exhaust systems because of its combination of availability, formability, durability and cost. Chromium (10%) and Nickel (19%) are added to the base steel. As a non-magnetic material it is particularly specified for armored vehicles. It has excellent corrosion resistance.

Type 409 is probably the most popular grade for original equipment exhaust components and especially catalytic converter castings and pipes. Chromium (11%) is the main addition to the base steel. Ultimate corrosion resistance is not as good as type 304 but the cost is lower and availability excellent.

Type 316 and 321 are similar to 304 and occasionally based for automotive exhausts. They have particular chemical and heat resistance arives.

Types 309 and 441 are two examples of specialist alloys with particularly high resistance to heat and stress. We were recently asked by a major Sports Car manufacturer to employ these grades in an exhaust manifold for a special model that was subject to extraordinary conditions- 'US market Federal Certification requires original-equipment emission critical components have a life of 10 years'.

Titanium- and its alloys are relatively new engineering metals since they have been in use only since about 1952. Titanium is not an 'exotic' metal; it is the fourth most abundant structural metal in the earth's crust. It is an extremely attractive material for engineers because of its high strength to weight ratio, high elevated temperature properties and excellent corrosion resistance.

We presently use Titanium in some of our 'Titan Collection' exhausts and, as the availability of appropriate tube and sheet improves, we are looking forward to finding more applications for this material.

Inconel- is a registered trademark of Special Metals Corporation. It is used in extreme high temperature applications (gas-turbine blades, reactors, turbocharger rotors, Formula 1 exhausts) because of its resistance to 'Creep' (the tendency of a solid material to deform permanently when subjected to temperature near its melting point). It is a 'Superalloy' with a very high nickel boatent and excellent corrosion resistence. We use Inconel in some of our 'Titan Collection' systems.